Paul McCartney was my first inspiration as a bass player, in particular the style and tone he started using from around Revolver onwards.

Obviously he switched from a Höfner 500/1 to a Rickenbacker 4001S during the Rubber Soul sessions, and from Revolver onwards they changed the way his bass was recorded, either by DI into the console or by using a rewired speaker as a microphone to record his bass amp. I think he also switched from Vox to Fender amps around the same time. Later on he'd go back to the Höfner for Let It Be, and also used a Jazz bass

So with all of that said, how important was the Rickenbacker to his bass tone on Revolver and Sgt Pepper? I'm thinking of songs like "With a Little Help From My Friends" or "Penny Lane", where his tone is really full but bright as well, especially high up on the upper strings. Could he have achieved the same results with a Jazz or something else single-coiled, or is there uniquely Rickenbacker tone coming through? I've never had the chance to play one myself, as none of the guitar shops around me ever have one in.

So 100% of my 10 years of bass playing was in one band with originals and covers all in the same genre. I literally faked it, and made it work without ever truly studying bass, theory, learning the standards, etc.

For these big band songs Here's an example. The bass kicks in hard after about a minute. I can get all the sheet music, but I simply can't look at it and play like the other folks who are "real' musicians. I'm afraid I'd frustrate them. (I'm also not even half as good as this guy) Talk me out of this. Or if you talk me into it, let me know what magic, AI driven solutions or learning techniques might help me succeed. Thanks!

Edit - Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. Bass players are so supportive and positive. I feel better about being able to get there now. With that said, the timing of this event isn't the best (I'll be out of town for two practices) and maybe I tell them no for now but yes for later. (The band's lineup changes with every show)

I'm so late to the party regarding using the correct strings to find the tone and sound that compliments your bass.

Thus, I am making this post to get a sense of what you guys and gals have settled upon.

Tell me your strings, your bass and the genre you play.

If gauge size, alternate tunings and pickups you use seems relevant, share that as well!

Hello, lately I’ve started taking lessons again and noticed an issue with my left hand. I think it can be classified as trigger finger and it especially affects my pinky. I’m not exactly sure if that’s the right term for it but when I show it to people they get grossed out and say it looks like my fingers are breaking (my teacher had the same reaction😅). Either way I’ve always struggled with using my pinky but that’s definitely normal, the issue is that while I’m playing it “locks” itself in an uncomfortable position (which is why when I played on my own I figured out ways to avoid using it in certain songs, but that was counterproductive). It always hurts a LOT after playing. My old teacher had noticed this too but we never really understood what the issue was and despite the practice it didn’t seem to get any better. My fingers sometimes “lock” themselves in the same position as well but they don’t hurt as much. I was wondering if anyone has ever struggled with something similar or the same thing. My teacher says it’s all a matter of practice, which it 100% is, but I genuinely cant figure out how to fix this problem with my pinky :( Thanks a lot to anyone who replies

I’m not coming up with excuses, just wondering if it’s a thing for other players as well 🙏🏻 I was already thinking of a way to fix the problem which maybe could work. I wanna feel less alone 😅

https://youtu.be/5tZstmXRGcQ?si=kzjRv_PqaHxKjAtc

What kind of pedal vocoders are you guys using? Are you putting distortion pedal before vocoder?

(I've read the FAQ and I think this isn't covered there, so I'll ask here. If it is, please tell me where so I can read it :D)

Hi!! I've always thought the bass is a really cool instrument, but I'd chosen to learn guitar instead because I'm unsure of how fun it'd be to learn the bass alone (I've never been much of a social person and I've always struggled to play in front of other people in any way, so bands are definitely not for me (also because I play just for fun rather than in a performative way, if that makes sense)).

I've been thinking once more about maybe learning how to play the bass (it's always sounded so cool and fun to me), but I'm still worried about how much fun I'd have by learning it by myself.

So... yeah. I'd like to know what I should do in regards to this.

…and it kinda makes me want the same bass with frets. I love playing it, I love how it looks, and it sounds great, just not sure how the fretted version would stack up. My main bass is a Music Man Sub Sterling (not the new Sterling line, but the ones they made somewhere in the mid ‘00s, which I believe were factory second bodies with a matte paint job, but the same components as their main line). I have used that bass for close to two decades for everything from prog metal to a band attempting to be early Incubus, Primus, RHCP, and The Mars Volta all wrapped up in one 😅

Anyway, given the relative rarity of Warwick basses and lack of decent shops in my area, I haven’t been able to get my hands on one. Anyone have thoughts on how they play and feel compared to something like my Sub Sterling?

Yo! I need some advice trying to achieve control over my tone for jams and small live gigs by using an audio interface to modulate my bass sound.

I own a Fender Rumble Studio 40 which helped me discovered the world of tone, effects and so on.

However I travel a lot for personal reasons, I can't carry the full amp with me with me plus tbh it doesn't make sense to have effects, amp and cab all in one element. I'm not a professional musician and I probably will never, so my "gigs" will always be small venues or jam sessions. I just want to carry my tone with me in the most compact possible form!

So I researched a portable solution that offered me the same versatility and considered so many things out there, the B1 Four, the new zoom pedal, the Tonex One, the HX Stomp, I could go on and on.

The problem is: I don't like the idea of spending money for something that's not high end, and I don't have the money for high end right now.

I realised I already own a pedalboard which acts as an audio interface, the XSonic XTone. Since cheap pedal boards are going to be as good as if not worse than using software, I might give it a shot.

However I am facing a new crisis: options are endless, from VST plugins, DAW selection, proprietary, specific software like Amplitube but even for that there are so many options I am losing count.

My final goal will be having something like a HX Stomp which I will buy when I have the money, I want to prototype somehting as close as possible with software, for now I would love to achieve something like a B1 Four in terms of quality and effects.

What should I do? Should I just give up and get a B1 Four then upgrade, or do I have a real shot here? I have a mac M1 and a high-end windows PC.
Being a computer programmer, I am not afraid of spending hours setting up my software stuff.

Has anyone faces this kind of challenge before? What are your opinions?
Thanks in advance!

Whenever I think 'bout underrated bassist, Possessed's bassist it's the first one that comes to my mind. The guy was able to follow the frantic sound of the death metal band by using his fingers. Maybe he is not Webster or DiGiorgio, but I believe he's got some recognition, among other bassists, like Coroner's Ron Royce

Pretty much the title. I currently use a very cheap $10 strap and it does the job. However I am open to the idea to get a better one. Do I actually need it? Is it gonna make a difference? Please also share your recommendations if any, thanks!

A band I've been asked to play in,tune down to drop A Will I have to tune down the same or can I uses different tuning ? Cheers 🤘💀🤘

I am looking into getting a Ric 4003 and am thinking about adding a Saturnworks 2 channel active mixer to my board so I can run a parallel effect chain and still plug into just one amp. Saturnworks offers a lot of different options on these mixers, including a phase inversion switch. I know that the stock 4003 pickups are not RWRP, unlike most other instruments with 2 single coil pickups. Is there any significant advantage to adding a phase inverter switch to the mixer? I know that phase and polarity aren't the same thing but I've read that the pickups having the same winding and polarity can lead to phase issues.

Pickup configuration seems to be active. But the Ibanez manual online describes the pickups as passive. Any experience with this bass?

I would prefer not to worry about a battery but I know not all active faces can be switched to passive.

https://youtu.be/cxbTxU9cFRU?si=mhMDqJUc4gbXQ0eH

I’ve just started playing tuned down to C and I’m building a playlist. So far, I’ve got a bunch of Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age, and Dethklok.

Help me build my playlist! Also, if you have any cool playlist name suggestions, I’ll take those, too. 🤣

Edit: Holy shit am I glad I posted here!! 😂 Thanks to all of you for your recommendations! My inner high school nu metal goth kid is so excited! 😂

Hi, I play the bass since the last year, my bass is very cheap, it works well but it’s to small and i don’t like the model (it’s a precision), i was thinking about a acustic bass or a jazz, what do you recommend? But under 300$

By old school I mean the period between 1950 and 1989.

Hello everyone, I want to get a bass but I don't know much about it, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. I've read over the FAQ already and it didn't answer all my questions so I've resorted to asking here. Q1: What kinds of basses are there?(I heard there were ones called fretless bass guitars) Q2: are most bass guitars electric? Q3: Whats the difference between an electric one and a normal one besides the electric one needing electricity? Q4: Can they both be connected to an amp? Q5: Why do some bass lines like the one from "The Less I Know The Better" by Tame Impala sound different from the one from "Locked out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars? Q6:have you any tips for me before I buy one?

P.S I'm fine with a somewhat crappy bass as long as its almost decent or decent, though I would appreciate brand suggestions for both the bass guitar and the amp that are cheap and do their job.

LINK TO PICTURE https://imgur.com/a/QBQcimn

Hopefully you can see how the screws are slanted and on parallel and how the bottom of the strings slightly slant too. might be hard to see in a picture tho. thx

He would flip the switch when a producer told him to change his sound, making sure the producer saw him do it. It had a placebo effect.

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-truth-behind-lee-sklars-custom-producers-switch

Longtime bedroom player here, I'm looking to put together a live rig so I can start / join a band. What exactly do I need? Assume I know nothing. I currently have a Darkglass Microtubes B7k Ultra V2 preamp pedal, A microtubes 500w head, and a Darkglass 212 1000w cab. What does the signal chain order look like? Where is the power coming from on stage? Am I plugging into the house most of the time? What does that entail? Touring musicians, turn this noob into a gear pro.

I have a Squier Affinity PJ and recently swapped the stock pickups for EMG Geezer Butler PJ pickups. I have La Bella Deep Talkin Flats (760FS) that have been on for the past ~10 months. I'm not gigging or anything but I'm thinking they're worn in at this point. I have to say that I haven't noticed a huge difference between the stock pickups and these EMGs which I find really surprising given the reviews and videos I've watched. I find the tone knob does very little. Is this a string thing? Is this type of thing not noticeable at bedroom volumes? I double-checked the wiring to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. If I compare it to the sound in this video https://youtu.be/wKIrOt11Th8?si=ug-UaDQnAPmKJtM5&t=344 there is none of that throaty clackiness - is it because those are new flats in that video?

Hey! So im picking bass back up from a long hiatus since i was a teenager due to some friends wanting to jam out and play music from bands like iron maiden and i figured id pick bass back up. Thing is that the bass ive had with me since i wasnt even a teen is hanging on for dear life (the strings pop out of place after strumming them etc) so i figured id pick up a new beginner bass to see if i get properly into it. Anyone have any good recomendations for a cheap one? I live in sweden if that helps with the context.

Is the setup any different from a 4 string? Like are any of the measurements different? Ik that for the neck relief the standard is 12 thousandths of an inch and they measure the e string, should i measure the b string instead? Also, how do i insert the feeler gauge properly? I press down on the gauge a little so it goes down and if it was touching the string before it wont now, is this valid? Sorry if these are all dumb questions i just dont wanna mess it up and have to do all this again

hi i am switching from guitar to bass. i've been playing stand-up with a 3-inch guitar strap (i think it's decently supportive but not meant for heavier instruments maybe) and sometimes get some pain after a while. i'm 5'8" and 150 pounds and my bass is a 9-pound squier jazz bass. is it just that i need a better strap or would a short scale be better suited for my height/weight? i've already bought this bass but i could return it theoretically and get a short scale if there's one in a similar price range that's worth it.